It was hair, teeth and eyeballs this year but members of the Enterprise Merchants Association got it done – pulled off another successful Hells Canyon Mule Days.

This feat is noteworthy because without the merchants’ help there likely would have been no Mule Days. On the heels of a proud, 21-year run, Mule Days nearly folded this year because volunteers who have been working so tirelessly for so long to keep the show alive dwindled to the point that there simply were not enough people to do the work.

Of course the world isn’t going to stop turning if Enterprise loses its mule show. Some might even say it is time to let the show die a natural death. After all, mules and packers are largely creatures of the past; they no longer are a significant part of the culture and custom of this little corner of the world.

Still, Mule Days fills a niche in Wallowa County that we believe is worth hanging onto. If for no other reason it helps tell an important story about the nature of this part of the world, a place so spectacular and rugged that it was accessible only to rough-hewn mountain men and their sure-footed beasts of burden. This is colorful part of the history and heritage of the Wallowa Mountains and Hells Canyon and it would be a shame to lose it. We fear that once it is lost Mule Days will never return.

Every community needs an event that it can hang its hat on and that is what Mule Days is for the city of Enterprise. With a little more effort it could be to Enterprise what Chief Joseph Days is to Joseph. The most famous mule show in the country is one held every year in Bishop, California, which in many ways defines that mountain community.

Enterprise is fighting for its life in the aftermath of a downturn in the timber and ranching economies and has shown some signs of a renaissance with a successful streetscape project and other initiatives. Now is not the time to give up.

What’s left of the Mule Days committee will be meeting at Community Connections at 6:30 on Oct. 29 to plan the future of the event. It needs a president – a promoter, really, – a secretary, treasurer, and some directors who are willing to take the reins and provide an infusion of energy, new ideas, and elbow grease. Surely there are some civic-minded mule lovers and history buffs out there who are willing to take this project on. R.S.